Together Liberia is a pilot media development project intended to empower local communicators to share their own stories through training, equipment donations and relationship building. Together Liberia is comprised of professors and students from five US universities with the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications serving as the anchor institution. Other institutions included Duke University, University of North Carolina, University of Oregon and the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Together Liberia created teams to train Liberian students and professionals in storytelling, photography, media ethics, multimedia and web design. Over the course of nearly three months the US team leadership tested different approaches to training, making adjustments throughout the summer, building a knowledge base of best practices for future projects while benefiting current participants and trainers. Participants were trained and produced stories that were published in the local and international media.

Over the course of nearly three months US team leadership tested different approaches to training, making adjustments throughout the summer, building a knowledge base of “best practices” for future projects while benefiting current participants and trainers. Participants were trained and produced stories that were published in the local and international media.

Together Liberia is the brain child of Newhouse School Asst. Professor Ken Harper and Center for Peace, Democracy & Development Executive Director Michael Keating, who have been travelling to Liberia for several years. Ken has been involved in several Liberian media training initiatives and believes that an emphasis on personalized, human-to-human training would be more effective.

Institutional Partners

SI Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsSyracuse University

Center for Democracy and DevelopmentUniversity of Massachusetts Boston

Robertson Scholars ProgramDuke University

School of Journalism and CommunicationUniversity of Oregon

School of Journalism and Mass CommunicationUniversity of North Carolina

Flickr Archive

We shot over 20,000 images as part of the Together Liberia project and released an edit of the best under a Creative Commons licence. View the selection below by clicking on a thumbnail or head on over to our Flickr archive.

Peter N. Toby, Liberian journalist. – Photo by Bob Miller.

Cestos High School student. By David Trotman-Wilkins.

Test Day, Cestos High School, Liberia. By Cameron Zohoori.

Participant Clarence Nah interviews a Cestos High School Student. By Ken Harper

Found Liberia. By Ken Harper

Interview with journalist Tecee Boley in the Ducor Hotel. By Ken Harper